

Magdalena Rigamonti, Onet: Do you want to be president of Poland?
Marian Banaś: It wasn't my initiative.
Whose?
People who trust me and respect me.
Senator Jaworski, MP Ardanowski, who else?
I have quite a few work to do in the advanced Control Chamber. For me, these cases are more crucial than moving for president.
They've already collected signatures. How much did they get?
60,000, 70,000 signatures.
A lot.
A lot, but I want to focus on working at NIK.
So you're certain your name won't be on the list to run for president on 4 April?
I'm sure. I'm a stateman and I want to work for the remainder of my word in the ultimate Chamber of Control.
Who came up with this? I'm asking due to the fact that last July, in the Kuluaras, it was said that possibly Banas was president.
I didn't make that up.
Your Law and Justice buddies?
Not only that.
You deceived them.
I am focused on my work, I am obliged to my controllers, who are idealists and statemen. I defend their independency so that they will objectively carry out control, regardless of who is in power.
You were afraid you wouldn't win against Trzaskowski, Nawrock, Mentzen. You were afraid of failure.
I didn't think about it. But if I went into combat, I'd be a very effective candidate.
Do you think there would be a chance that you could enter the second round?
If it were found that specified a candidacy had actually been submitted...
Aren't you sorry?
No, due to the fact that I think the ultimate Chamber of Control is 1 of the most crucial state institutions. And if our proposals for amending the ultimate Chamber of Control Act came into force, we would have much more to say.
Marian Banaś will vote for Sławomir Mentzen? “This is simply a secret”
Who will you vote for? By Charles Nawrocki, who is the head of the IPN, the institution you control now?
The IPN control is planned. And I want it to end in average mode.
Is it average before the election?
It's somewhere around May, June.
So you're going to aim between the first and second rounds?
We're taking our time. And as for my vote, it's a civic secret, electoral.
Nawrocki, Trzaskowski?
The election is classified.
How about Mentzen? Your boy ran for Parliament for the Confederacy.
My boy is an adult and can express his opinions independently.
But you were there for him, even at a conference supporting him.
He primarily supported the amendment of the ultimate Chamber of Control Act to strengthen the independency of this institution. delight note that during the regulation of writing this independency was threatened. After all, at the time the NIK was tried to own, so if 1 of the crucial political parties, even the smaller ones, supported this institution, I was most much in favour of it. Besides, that's the kind of support I've been trying to get.
So it's clear that in the presidential race, you will support Confederate Mentzen.
Not necessarily. I'm not a politician, I'm a civilian servant.
You were a politician.
I was a man who fights for the freedom and independency of Poland.
That's before 1989. Then you were a politician.
I was not a politician, only 1 of the non-partisan ministers who dealt only with hard work, which has produced concrete results, including 300 billion extra money for social funds. If this money wasn't there, we'd gotta make bonds, loans that would pay off our grandchildren.
Marian Banas about Jarosław Kaczyński. “What he did proves as bad as possible”
Mr. Chairman, you were the trusted Jarosław Kaczyński, you were the PiS-holder.
I was a stateman, and I'm inactive a stateman. On the another hand, it is actual that 2 or 3 weeks before I became an enemy of Jarosław Kaczyński, the same Jarosław Kaczyński said in front of my director: "Mr. Minister, you are entitled to the Order of the White Eagle for what you have done for Poland and for the PiS". This demonstrated my effectiveness and the importance of my function in this government.
And then he broke you, ordered you to resign as CEO of NIK. He said he'd destruct you.
He did, but that doesn't mean me anymore. Give your own assessment to Jarosław Kaczyński. What he did was absolutely unqualified and harmful, and it is as bad as possible about the man who does so.
Who is Jarosław Kaczyński to you now? What do you think of him?
I think it would be best if Mr Kaczyński was retired a long time ago.
I'm certain he won't. He's about to be interrogated in connection with a scandal at the Government strategical Reserve Agency.
We look at the hands of all power, but as far as the RARS is concerned, we have here an example of the evident pathology that prevailed during the regulation of law and justice. Absolute unprofitableness. acquisition of food for PLN 50 million by means of an intermediary designated from above who will resell this food to the agency for a 200 percent higher amount. The intermediary was designated by 1 of the members of the Management Board of that agency. Unacceptable abuse of power.
Another example is the retention of disinfectant. First, PLN 4,000 a period was paid, and then the entity was changed and paid PLN 200 1000 a month, for 8 months. I want you to calculate how much it costs, what the losses are for the state budget, for all of us. It's not just about circumstantial names, it's about phenomena, it's about systemic action.
We are preparing a announcement to the D.A.'s office, which will indicate the names of the people liable for the apparent inefficiencies, the violation of the Public Finance Act. Article 44 clearly states that state authorities are spending in a cost-effective, deliberate and efficient way. And here it was that a neighbour of 1 of the agency members bought trucks that were then rented to him and he was supplying products to Ukraine with these cars... The RARS had drivers, she could have done it herself. In the coming days, there will besides be a announcement to the prosecutors.
The name Mateusz Morawiecki, in this announcement will be performed?
We're not talking about names right now.
It's up to you to decide whose names will appear in this notice.
But the D.A. decides what to do with this notice.
Mr President, next period they are to be interrogated in connection with the RARS by Mr Kaczyński and Morawiecki. Right?
We'll see, but I think so.
Do these names appear on the D.A.'s notice?
Yeah. In the bill that we have prepared, and which we handed over to you last September, we clearly point out that the ultimate Chamber of Control should have judicial powers. Prosecutors who were under the political regulation of the PIS did not execute their duties properly. any cases were not conducted, were in drawers, or were abused. If we were to direct the indictment to the court as ultimate Chamber of Control, there would be no mystery. Lawyers would be acquainted with the case, as would journalists. It would be preventive on the judges themselves, it wouldn't be this pathology.
I believe that all political forces should be afraid that this bill should be voted on as shortly as possible in the Sejm. It would besides enable us to control the peculiar services which, present and at that time, are unfortunately a state in the country. After all, our control clearly showed that no 1 truly had power over them. The CBA's chiefs of services, the ABW, only provided specified information to the Prime Minister, the President, who they consider reasonable. another things were kept secret. This can't happen.
Is the state inactive functioning?
Unfortunately. Operational resources are out of control, no 1 is missing. possibly after the presidential election, this case will be taken seriously and our bill will be addressed to the Sejm, inter alia, to strengthen control over the services, the prosecution and to meet the expectations of citizens.
Will you talk to Prime Minister Tuski about this bill?
No, I don't request to talk to Prime Minister Tuski. There's no request for that. The case is public, transparent. The task was folded on the marshal's hand, is available on the advanced Control Chamber website. I hope that the candidates for president will besides rise and support this task as shortly as possible and bring concrete results. The state must be repaired, it cannot be a monopoly of power, due to the fact that it is always harmful to citizens and to the full state. It's just spoiling the state. Marshal Pilsudski knew precisely what the ultimate Chamber of Control meant, due to the fact that 1 of the first decrees he issued in 1919 was about the creation of NIK. This institution proved itself in the interwar period, conducting its activities besides during the war and in the communist state.
You could besides fix the state as president.
Madam editor, first we request to show the citizens what hypocrisy, pathology in the country is, to show all the mechanisms that request to be repaired. due to the fact that if people don't know, they'll only be fed 1 part of information, isolated from the truth, nothing will change. A politician can say anything, but we operate on facts. There's no illusory action here, just a file of checks that anyone can look at. No 1 can say that reports under Banasia's leadership have zero credibility.
That's what your colleagues say.
They're not friends. They thus harm and destruct controllers who are well-deserved employees of the NIK.
Marian Banas about buying the Hermes system. “This was done in the top secrecy”
You sent a announcement to the D.A.'s office regarding the acquisition by the D.A. of Pegasus, the Hermes system.
Hermes was purchased from budget resources, but with the exception of the Public Procurement Act. No detailed analysis was carried out, prices were not verified in competition, and it is known that this kind of equipment was much cheaper on the market.
Hermes was purchased for PLN 15 million.
Over PLN 15.5 million, and it was possible for PLN 6.5 million. This is one more time a manifest inefficiencies. The opinions of the workers who said that no specified tool was needed at the minute were not counted.
Whowas active in negotiations to buy this tool from an Israeli company?
Prosecutors of the National Prosecutor's Office. Of course, I'm not gonna operate on names here.
Prosecutors Ostrowski and Święczkowski?
Not only was it overpaid, but it was besides done in the top possible secrecy, which was absolutely unacceptable. After all, this tool is utilized for surveillance and was to be utilized in relation to people for whom no criminal proceedings were conducted, namely politicians, journalists, businessmen. It was an abuse of the law and an unprofitable millions.
You will control the state's actions during the September flood in Lower Silesia and what aid for this region of Poland looks like.
This is an emergency check. It hasn't started yet.
But it's about to start.
Two, 3 weeks, possibly earlier. This is simply a complaint control. The proposals were submitted by Members and average citizens.
Members of the Law and Justice.
Members of the Law and the Confederation and citizens affected by the flood. due to the serious situation that took place there, it is advisable that we carry out this control. We will see whether the actions of the government and local government administration were adequate and correct, whether the aid that was organised was carried out properly.
Marcin Kierwiński, the typical of the flood government, is he to be afraid?
I think he'll work with us to show that everything is transparent. We are an institution that has won an audit competition in Interpol for the last 3 years, and now in Glasgow, after the vote of all the representatives of the countries of the world, we have been allowed to conduct the audit again for the next 3 years. Polish media and Polish politicians say nothing about it, and this is simply a prestige for Poland. All the news agencies in the planet have reported it. Only we had full silence.
During the time of the Law and Justice, our home had large support in the world. It was understood everywhere that the independency of NIK was the most important. After all, you remember that we did not actually have a functioning College of the ultimate Audit Office, I did not have a CEO, and I did practically all my duties alone. We were able to last this and defend our independence. Everything was being done to deprive me of my position as president and take control, due to the fact that it was about control and monopolizing all state bodies.
We talked then, you were like a broken dog.
How would you feel if all the state institutions, all the media, made you your biggest criminal, thief, state traitor? After all, the editor remembers erstwhile our controllers went to Belarus at a time erstwhile average relations were inactive with Belarus?
It wasn't a average relation anymore. After all, your people went there after the large protests against Lukashenko, erstwhile the dictator put thousands of people in prison, including Andrzej Pochobut, who has been held until now.
We went there on a peculiar case, to talk about the timber economy, which could bring Poland at least PLN 1.5 billion. We're not there yet, and I've already been charged with treason.
Earlier there was a case of the “Banasia Stoneyard” in the centre of Krakow, where there were rooms for hours, which is actually a public house.
From television, I found out that I'm expected to be any kind of pimp leader I haven't seen before my eyes. All indications are that it was all designed, prepared.
By who?
By the service. Political decision. destruct a man, take over the ultimate Chamber of Control.
You inactive don't want to be president?
I don't want to. And I give you my word of honor that I will not run.